Saturday November 3rd, 8pm St. John the Evangelist, Kitchener

Sunday November 4th, 3pm Trillium Lutheran (22 Willow St.), Waterloo

With special guests Jennifer Enns Modolo, mezzo-soprano and Catherine Robertson, piano

White Lights in Darkness

directed by Leonard Enns

GIVINg iDEas vOicE

20th Anniversary Season The Road to Refuge: Resettlement

Program

*Hear My Prayer – Leonard Enns (no applause) Amen – Henryk Gorecki

*White Lights in Darkness – Lavinia Kell Parker

*At Sunset – Jeff Enns Jenny Enns Modolo, mezzo-soprano

~ intermission ~

My Song – Ivo Antognini

*In Sweet Music – David Archer

Hymn to St Cecilia – Benjamin Britten

*Gloria from Missa Pax – Timothy Corlis Catharine Robertson, piano

*Night on a Starry Hill – Matthew Emery

*Canadian composition

We’d love to visit with you after the concert... please join us to chat over some snacks!

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Overview Today’s program grows from three events. It is equally celebration, expression of hope for the future, and acknowledgment of pain of the past. First, it is a celebration of DaCapo’s 20th anniversary; it was in November 1998 that we performed our first concert. Secondly, today we begin the middle year of a three-year plan in which our programming is intended to reflect some of the steps along the road to refuge; this year our focus is resettlement, on hope for a new life, while still acknowledging that grief and pain may continue to ache in the belly of the refugee. And, thirdly, we add our voices to the world-wide chorus of remembrance and reflection at this centenary of the end of World War I.

With this triad of events in mind, the first part of our program is inspired both by the remembrance of WWI, and by the present-day refugee saga. The music expresses reflection, supplication, remembrance and hope, all of which we can imagine as central to the lives of those surviving or dying in a broken world, hoping to return again to a normal life, whether as young folks in battle a century ago (and ever before and since!), or as refugees today struggling through the rubble of their lives for new homes elsewhere.

The second part of the program celebrates the third element, music itself. Two decades ago the DaCapo Chamber Choir began as a group of thirteen young people—twelve recent graduates from University of Waterloo plus one high school student. That inaugural concert in November 1998 featured Britten’s Hymn to St Cecilia (the patroness of musicians), which stands as the centrepiece of the second part of today’s program. We are as compelled by Britten’s music and the text today as we were twenty years ago. Thanks to our listeners for sharing the gift of music with us.

Notes & Texts Program notes written by Leonard Enns

Hear My Prayer (2009) – Leonard Enns

Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come unto thee. ~ Psalm 102:1

Amen (1975) – Henryk Górecki Gorecki’s music fairly screams from parched throats of a people torn from their homeland—a land now destroyed and poisoned—desperate for a meaningful future. His setting offers no comfort, only grief and resignation, and an anguished reaching to a past while refusing to relinquish a tenuous hope for a better future.

White Lights in Darkness (2007) – Lavinia Kell ParkerFor this composition Kell Parker re-arranged select phrases from two poems by her friend Nico Crisafulli. While those poems were written as a response to 9/11, they apply equally to tragedies elsewhere, tragedies that drive refugees, that are the consequences of war, of aggression, of frustration, and of greed. Kell Parker begins and concludes her composition with the age-old Agnus Dei text, surrounding the central cry from the ashes of destruction with an embracing prayer for peace.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundiAgnus Dei, dona nobis pacem

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the worldLamb of God, grant us peace

For PeaceDove white wings grow crimsonDark Immaculate DirtiedBombedBroken beautiesWe areSoon the wishers of calmWill wish in deepOpen strained eyes to a daybreakThe prayersThese prayersThese prayersAre oursDreams of unity at dawnOh what have we done…

PrayerVoices RaspedPlead well wishedKnees bloodyFrom so much kneeling“Please” “May God Help Us”Salvation from my ravagesPrayers for PeaceWhite Lights in Darkness ~Nico Crisafulli

At Sunset (2008) – Jeff EnnsOf this work, Jeff Enns writes:

At Sunset was commissioned by the Canadian Chamber Choir and Nova Scotia Mezzo-soprano Christianne Rushton … The text by Pauline Johnson is rich in imagery and provides a wide range of emotions, from driving passion to serene silence, reflected in the different sections of the piece. The overall feeling is one of warmth - a sunset on an August evening with a gentle, warm breeze. I tried to have the music wrap around the listener and lead them through the excitement to a warm embrace.

One can imagine that the thoughts and longings expressed in the text could also have been in the minds of the young people going through the slaughter of WWI, and of all those involved in, and driven out by, the ceaseless conflicts both before and after. How many cried out then and still today with Pauline Johnson: My heart outreached its arms, all passion thronged/And beat against Fate’s wall,/Crying in utter homesickness to be/Near to a heart that loves and leans to me.

To-night the west o’er-brims with warmest dyes; Its chalice overflows With pools of purple colouring the skies, Aflood with gold and rose; And some hot soul seems throbbing close to mine, As sinks the sun within that world of wine.

I seem to hear a bar of music float And swoon into the west; My ear can scarcely catch the whispered note, But something in my breast Blends with that strain, till both accord in one, As cloud and colour blend at set of sun.

And twilight comes with grey and restful eyes, As ashes follow flame. But O! I heard a voice from those rich skies Call tenderly my name; It was as if some priestly fingers stole In benedictions o’er my lonely soul.

I know not why, but all my being longed And leapt at that sweet call; My heart outreached its arms, all passion thronged And beat against Fate’s wall, Crying in utter homesickness to be Near to a heart that loves and leans to me. ~E. Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake) (1861-1913)

My Song (2009) – Ivo Antognini

This song of mine will wind its music around you, my child, like the fond arms of love.

This song of mine will touch your forehead like a kiss of blessing.

When you are alone it will sit by your side and whisper in your ear, when you are in the crowd it will fence you about with aloofness.

My song will be like a pair of wings to your dreams, it will transport your heart to the verge of the unknown.

It will be like the faithful star overhead when dark night is over your road.

My song will sit in the pupils of your eyes, and will carry your sight into the heart of things.

And when my voice is silent in death, my song will speak in your living heart. ~Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)

In Sweet Music (2015) – David ArcherThis is one of DaCapo’s NewWorks competition winners, and is included on our new CD, NewWorks.

Orpheus with his lute made trees,And the mountain tops that freeze,Bow themselves when he did sing:To his music plants and flowersEver sprung; as sun and showersThere had made a lasting spring.Everything that heard him play,Even the billows of the sea,Hung their heads, and then lay by.In sweet music is such art,Killing care and grief of heartFall asleep, or hearing, die. ~William Shakespeare (1564-1616) Henry VIII, Act III, Scene I

Hymn to St. Cecilia (1942) – Benjamin BrittenBoth the original poem by Auden and the musical setting by Britten date from the early 1940’s, from the early and middle years of WWII. Ostensibly a celebration of music, the text and music are also a poignant acknowledgment of loss, of a cry for restoration. The first poem invokes the sensuality, delight, and healing powers of music. The second celebrates the ephemeral, innocent and free qualities of the art. But it is the third that names the deepest potentials and aspirations of this art. In music, sorrow is unashamedly herself, hope is released from outworn platitudes, and dread is expressed unapologetically as such. All of this is summoned to re-arrange, to “restore our fallen day.” This, from the year 1942, in words which go far beyond any romping praise–here is lament for the actions of the “tremendous brain;” here is weeping for “lives your wishes never led;” here is a plea to the “law drummed out by hearts against the still/Long winter of our intellectual will.” Auden’s text unrelentingly probes the themes that drive the atrocities of warfare; at the same time, it pleads for restoration. This is celebration, this is lament, this is a plea for a humane world, not only for “composing mortals” in the most obvious sense, but for all who create the world in which we live, and in which we wish to live.

I. In a garden shady this holy lady With reverent cadence and subtle psalm, Like a black swan as death came on Poured forth her song in perfect calm: And by ocean’s margin this innocent virgin Constructed an organ to enlarge her prayer, And notes tremendous from her great engine Thundered out on the Roman air.

Blonde Aphrodite rose up excited, Moved to delight by the melody, White as an orchid she rode quite naked In an oyster shell on top of the sea; At sounds so entrancing the angels dancing Came out of their trance into time again, And around the wicked in Hell’s abysses The huge flame flickered and eased their pain.

Blessed Cecilia, appear in visions To all musicians, appear and inspire: Translated Daughter, come down and startle Composing mortals with immortal fire.

II. I cannot grow; I have no shadow To run away from,I only play.

I cannot err; There is no creature Whom I belong to, Whom I could wrong.

I am defeat When it knows it Can now do nothing By suffering.

III. O ear whose creatures cannot wish to fall, O calm of spaces unafraid of weight, Where Sorrow is herself, forgetting all The gaucheness of her adolescent state, Where Hope within the altogether strange From every outworn image is released, And Dread born whole and normal like a beast Into a world of truths that never change: Restore our fallen day; O re-arrange.

O dear white children casual as birds, Playing among the ruined languages, So small beside their large confusing words, So gay against the greater silences Of dreadful things you did: O hang the head, Impetuous child with the tremendous brain, O weep, child, weep, O weep away the stain, Lost innocence who wished your lover dead, Weep for the lives your wishes never led.

O cry created as the bow of sin Is drawn across our trembling violin. O weep, child, weep, O weep away the stain. O law drummed out by hearts against the still Long winter of our intellectual will. That what has been may never be again.

All you lived through, Dancing because you No longer need it For any deed.

I shall never be Different. Love me.

Blessed Cecilia, appear in visions To all musicians, appear and inspire: Translated Daughter, come down and startle Composing mortals with immortal fire.

O flute that throbs with the thanksgiving breath Of convalescents on the shores of death. O bless the freedom that you never chose.O trumpets that unguarded children blow About the fortress of their inner foe. O wear your tribulation like a rose.

Blessed Cecilia, appear in visions To all musicians, appear and inspire: Translated Daughter, come down and startle Composing mortals with immortal fire. ~ W.H. Auden (1907-1973)

Gloria from Missa Brevis (2009) – Timothy CorlisAs he has done elsewhere, particularly in his O Great Mystery, Corlis sets both the original Latin text and the English version here in the Gloria from his Missa Brevis. We include this movement, with its energy and brightness, as a fitting expression of joy and thanks for new possibilities for those whose life has become impossible, and, simply, thanks for music itself on this 20th anniversary of the choir.

Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.Laudamus te, benedicimus te, adoramus te, glorificamus te, Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuan.

Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace to those of good will.We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, We give thanks to you for your great glory.

Night on a Starry Hill (2014) – Matthew EmeryThis is one of DaCapo’s NewWorks competition winners, and is included on our new CD, NewWorks.

Emery’s composition tempers the exuberance of the Corlis Gloria; we present it in an unbroken continuation from the Gloria. Emery’s gentle work is a DaCapo NewWorks competition winner, included on our new CD. It expresses a wish for all—for ourselves, our fellow folk, and particularly for those who are struggling to find a new home among us.

Give me a few more hours to passWith the mellow flower of the elm-bough falling,And then no more than the lonely grassAnd the birds calling.

Give me a few more days to keepWith a little love and a little sorrow,And then the dawn in the skies of sleepAnd a clear to-morrow.

Give me a few more years to fillWith a little work and a little lending,And then the night on a starry hillAnd the road’s ending. ~Marjorie Pickthall (1883-1922)

The Artists

Jennifer Enns Modolo Canadian mezzo-soprano Jennifer Enns Modolo has delighted audiences across the country with her clear, unaffected voice and meaningful singing. As an accomplished concert soloist, and with a repertoire that ranges from early music to contemporary, she performs regularly with ensembles throughout Ontario and across Canada including the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, the Elmer Iseler Singers, the Elora Festival Singers, the Grand Philharmonic Choir, the Talisker Players, the Richard Eaton Singers, the Nota Bene Period Orchestra, the Spiritus Ensemble and the Vancouver Bach Choir. She is a member of the Hamilton based ensemble Capella Intima, which specializes in performing exciting concerts of lesser known 17th century vocal and operatic music. In addition to performing with large and small ensembles, Jennifer also delights in the art of the solo recital and collaborates frequently with lutenist Magdalena Tomsinska and pianist Lorin Shalanko.

Equally at home on the opera stage, Jennifer has sung the title role in Rossini’s La Cenerentola, Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Juno in Eccles’ The Judgement of Paris, Florence Pike in Britten’s Albert Herring, Third Lady in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Jennie Hildebrand in Weill’s Street Scene and Jean in Le Portrait de Manon.

Upcoming engagements for the 2018-19 season include a concert of Schubert songs with the KW Chamber Orchestra, a concert version of The Mikado (Katisha) with the Waterloo Regional Gilbert and Sullivan Society, Handel’s Messiah with Fanshawe Chorus London, the London Symphonia and the Guelph Chamber Choir, Bach’s Magnificat with the Spiritus Ensemble, Berg’s Four Early Songs with the Wellington Winds, and “Obsessions” with the London Symphonia.

Catherine Robertson, pianoCatherine Robertson is active as a pianist, chamber musician, singer, coach and teacher. She is a frequent piano and choral adjudicator at music festivals across the country. Catherine teaches piano and piano literature courses at Conrad Grebel University College, and piano at the University of Guelph.

Catherine received her B. Mus. Piano Performance (Queen’s University), Piano Licentiate LRAM, (Royal Academy of Music, London, U.K.) and her M. Mus. Piano Performance (Western University) degrees. She was a collaborative pianist and coach at Wilfrid Laurier University, and for eight years taught piano at Redeemer University College.

For twenty years, Catherine demonstrated her love of early music as director of TACTUS Vocal Ensemble, a professional group that specialized in music of the European Renaissance. She is also a former consort member of Tafelmusik Chamber Choir and sang for twenty-five years with the Elora Singers.

Membership on the board of the Guelph Connections Concerts series has helped keep Catherine active in recital and in planning chamber concerts of

musical excellence and accessibility within her home community. A long-time friend of DaCapo, first performing as a member of TACTUS, Catherine has been a frequent guest, beginning in November of 2006.

Leonard Enns, Artistic DirectorLeonard Enns is the founding director of the DaCapo Chamber Choir and Professor Emeritus of Music at Conrad Grebel University College, University of Waterloo. His work as composer, conductor, and adjudicator has taken him across Canada, to the US, and to Europe. He was a conducting student of, and assistant to, Margaret Hillis for three years in Chicago. In addition to various other conducting and guest conducting assignments, he founded the Conrad Grebel Chapel Choir and directed it for over three decades, and founded and directed the DaCapo Chamber Choir for two (and counting). He recorded six CDs with the Grebel Chapel Choir, and three with the DaCapo Chamber Choir, the third being released at today’s concert, which is also the 20th anniversary of the choir.

Many DaCapo listeners will have heard his extended composition, This Thirsty Land, premiered by University of Guelph Choirs in early April, and further performed in Waterloo and Toronto in late April by DaCapo together with Orpheus Choir of Toronto, string orchestra and oboe. This July his recently recorded Vanishing Point (on the eponymous CD) was performed at the World Saxophone Congress in Zagreb, Croatia by the recording artists, the Winnipeg Organ & Saxophone Duo. His The Sunne of Grace and Missa Brevis have been added to his published catalogue of works in the past months, both by ECS Publishing in the USA.

DaCapo Chamber Choir The DaCapo Chamber Choir was founded in 1998 in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario under the direction of Leonard Enns. The mission of the choir is to promote the best of contemporary choral music through public performance and recordings, including the intentional championing of music of Canadian and local composers. The choir’s annual national NewWorks choral competition for Canadian composers aids in establishing a vibrant and vital presence for recent and emerging Canadian choral music.

Our performance season consists of three annual concerts in Kitchener- Waterloo: once in the fall around Remembrance Day, a mid-winter, and a spring concert. In addition, the choir performs on an ad hoc basis at other events.

The choir has released three CDs: the brand-new NewWorks CD (releasing this weekend!); the award-winning ShadowLand (winner of the 2010 ACCC’s National Choral Recording of the Year award, including the Juno-nominated Nocturne by Leonard Enns); and Still (2004).

For more information about the choir, including photos, sound clips, the NewWorks choral composition competition, and more, visit our web site at www.dacapochamberchoir.ca or join our eList by emailing info@dacapochamberchoir.ca.

For behind-the-scenes photos, rehearsal insights, and online savings, become a facebook fan of DaCapo or follow us on Twitter @DaCapoChoir

Choir Members SopranoLaura Enns Sara FretzMaria GeleynseSara MartinJanelle SantiCaroline Schmidt

TenorBrian Black Curtis Dueck Marcus Kramer Stephen PreeceTravis Wiart

AltoTheresa BauerJanice Maust Hedrick Liz MitchellAlex MeinzingerSusan SchwartzentruberJennie Wiebe BassJoel BeckerDaniel CockayneMike HookDaniel KingMike LepockLuke MacLean

To inquire about auditions, email auditions@dacapochamberchoir.ca

AcknowledgementsGraphic Design – Heather Lee, www.leedesigns.ca

Choir Manager – Sara Martin

Board of Directors:Rachel Harder Lawrence McNaught Tom NagyDave Switzer

DaCapo thanks the following organizations and individuals:

– for hosting our Web site

We are grateful to Conrad Grebel University College for providing rehearsal space in its beautiful Chapel, where DaCapo was shaped as a child of the Grebel Chapel Choir, and which continues to be our rehearsal home.

There is a strong historic and ideological relationship between DaCapo and Grebel. Artistic director, and Grebel Professor Emeritus, Leonard Enns directed the Grebel Chapel Choir for 33 years; out of this grew the DaCapo Chamber Choir, beginning in 1998 with a dozen alumni.

DaCapo has grown to extend beyond its Grebel origins, but organic connections remain. Even after nearly 20 years, over half the singers are Grebel alumni, and our music continues to be grounded in spiritual and healing convictions shared with the College.

2018-2019 Season Supporters

DaCapo thanks all of our donors, including the many individuals and organizations who wished to remain anonymous.

Ralph & Anne BrubacherLen & Sue EnnsCher FarrellRon Flaming & Ingried RegierJohn & Arlene Groh

Jack & Magdalene HormanMiriam MaustHenry & Nancy PaulsErnie & Nancy RegehrHenry & Irene Schmidt

Sharon Schwartzentruber, Susan Schwartzentruber - in memory of Grace & Raymond Schwartzentruber

Help us keep exceptional music accessible to all! You, too, can become a DaCapo season supporter. Simply visit our web site at www.dacapochamberchoir.ca and click on Support.

Come back and save! Purchase tickets online and use promo code DC20Return and save $5.00 per ticket. Available until February 28th, 2019.

Following the moonroad

there will be rest

March 9th & 10thGuest artist Miriam Stewart-Kroeker, cello

Premiere of Following the Moonroad, the commissioned work for choir & cello by Christine Donkin (featuring new texts by Canadian poets)

May 11th & 12thGuest artists Mark McDowell, organ and the DaCapo Alumni choir!

Premiere of the 2018 NewWorks winning entry, Laughter & Light by Douglas Price

Upcoming DaCapo Performances...